ABSTRACT:In classical approaches to modeling biological processes in brain cells, ranging from the electric activity to subcellular diffusion, transport and reaction of various ion types are reduced to simplified one-dimensional and compartmentalized problems. Models of the full three-dimensional and time-dependent problem, including the detailed morphology of the cell and its organelles is not established in the field. This talk will cover methods and results of an approach to model and simulate biophysical processes in neurons with a high level of detail. Our models are based on the theory of continuum mechanics, thus modeling neuronal processes on a continuum scale. Yet, in defined areas of a neuron, this approach might not suffice to capture the relevant effects for information processing. At the micro-scale molecular dynamics and interaction with single ions, e.g. calcium ions could play a crucial role in information coding in the brain. We are now investigating the possibilities of coupling multiple scales into a unified modeling approach.

BIO:2010-today — Junior Professor for Computational Neuroscience at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.2010-today — Member of the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Heidelberg/Mannheim.2008-2010 — Career Postdoc at the Excellence Cluster CellNetworks in Heidelberg.2006-2008 — PhD student at the University of Heidelberg in Mathematics2007-2010 — Member of the Bernstein-Group DMSPiN, part of a national research network, and active in the field “Computational Neuroscience”.2006 — Diploma degree “Diplom-Mathematiker” in Mathematics in Heidelberg